Herbicide Application

A beautiful carpet of dense green grass is what most homeowners want for their property. Without this, even the most perfect landscape specimens will not show to the best of their ability, nor will the house itself. It is often the “forgotten” final detail in a landscape but one the most important. A well kept lawn has many practical functions also. It naturally produces the oxygen we breath everyday, holds the soil particles in place thereby reducing dust and mud tracking and provides a cooler temperature around the house by influencing glare and reflection of heat from the sun.

Unfortunately, along comes the troublesome, undesirable and unwanted weed growing in your beautiful yard. Nobody wants weeds in their lawn. But the fact of the matter is that weeds are always going to be there. Weeds grow from seeds that are either deep in the soil, blown in from neighboring areas or dropped by animals venturing into your lawn. Weeds can be divided into two groups with sub categories of the two; Grassy Weeds and Broadleaf Weeds.

Grassy Weeds: This includes the weeds Crabgrass, Foxtail and Goosegrass. These weeds are best controlled on a preventive basis. They are an annual weed which means the seeds germinate in the late spring and then the plant dies in the fall with the first hard frost. If grassy weeds were a problem last year, then an application of a pre emergent material may be recommended. If crabgrass or other grassy weeds were not a problem last year, you may not even need to apply the material.

Broadleaf Weeds: This class would include the ever-popular Dandelion, Chickweed, White Clover and other common weeds. It is safe to say that there is nothing to be done to prevent weeds from popping up in your lawn and there are products that will prevent most weeds from germinating. But typically, these weeds are targeted by either a spring or fall herbicide application. The fall application is the more effective treatment than the spring service, even though it is in the spring when we see the yellow flowers.

Controlling Weeds: Typically an application or two of a weed control product is needed to get weed populations under control. However, once that has been accomplished, good healthy turfgrass will prevent most weeds from growing. Keeping your lawn irrigated properly and cut at the proper height will eliminate most weed competition.